Convention Center Prides Itself on Greenness

The SMG-managed Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, which hosted more than 300,000 attendees at 296 meetings and conventions in 2006, measures its success by how “green” it is.This includes a variety of energy-saving decisions. Since installing a reduced-bleed cooling tower system, the facility has reduced its fresh water consumption by about 10 million gallons, resulting in a savings of almost $35,000.During the current drought, it installed automatic flush mechanisms in all restrooms to cut water consumption in half and also limited the use of its 35-foot bronze sailfish sculpture fountain. The center has also taken advantage of the area’s most plentiful renewable resource: sunshine.The building’s east side is encased in a reflective glass curtain-wall system that has been fully replaced over the last few years with a high-energy-saving coefficient glass that reduces the electrical energy requirement for interior lighting during the day. Throughout the years, the facility has also changed 112 light fixtures in the exhibit hall to Stingray brand 400-watt fixtures (from 1,000-watt fixtures that provided the same light), installed motion-sensing light switches, replaced the incandescent bulbs in all the exit signs with LED lights, installed tinted skylights to reduce both the need for electric lights and heat transmission, and begun using a Johnson Controls Energy Management System that helps prevent individual meeting spaces inside the facility from wasting energy.